Chapter 2: An Explanation

As Zhou Mingyu jumped back he ended up tripping on his own feet and landed flat on his ass. A groan tore through his lips as the rest of his body began to ache as much as his head did. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes in a desperate attempt to relieve the pain. It was then that he realized that his glasses fell off somewhere but he couldn't care less right now.

"Huh!?" He heard the cute voice call out. He opened his eyes to look at her but without his glasses, everything just looked like moving blobs of color. "Are you ok!?" the blob cried out. "Here let me help!" The blob began to move closer and Zhou Mingyu quickly raised his hands up to stop her.

"Glasses." He gritted out as he fought through the pounding in his head.

"Glass? ... Oh!"

Zhou Mingyu watched as the blob shuffled around his room before stopping in front of him. He quickly sat up and blindly reached out to her. A wave of relief washed over him as he felt his glasses in his hand and quickly put them on. As his vision began to clear he could finally see the girl standing before him. The girl had a young, sweet face with large eyes, and a small mouth and nose. Her black hair was tied in two perfectly round buns that added to her childish appearance. Zhou Mingyu looked her over and saw the traditional hanfu outfit that swallowed up her small frame. Her top and long jacket were white which was made to look even whiter against her navy blue skirt and bright red slash. In her hand, Zhou Mingyu saw that she held a small dark blue rigid fan with the phases of the moon and stars painted on it. All in all the little girl in front of was the perfect combination of elegant and cute and Zhou Mingyu wanted nothing more than to pinch her chubby cheeks.

The small girl squirmed under his gaze and pouted. "Hmph! What are you staring out? I don't look that strange!" She even crossed her arms to add to the effect. Her outburst drew his eyes back to her face and he nearly gasped. Her eyes were a deep black with specks of white in them, as if she held the night sky itself in them.

"Stop staring!" the girl cried out. "I know all you humans like looking at us stars but it's very rude you know!"

Coupled with the girl's strange appearance and words and her unexplained entrance, Zhou Mingyu came to a logical conclusion. 'I'm either dead or insane.' he thought.

"I'm sorry Miss Star," He said, feeling dazed by the strange turn of events. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"Miss... Star?" The girl blinked before cupping her face and squealing. 'What a polite human I've picked!' She thought. 'That settles it. This is the one I'll help!"

"That's alright!" 'Miss Star' grinned and clapped her hands together. "Let's forget all that now. Let's get to work on your wish instead!"

"... My wish? What the-" Zhou Mingyu quickly shut his mouth before he uttered something that shouldn't be said in front of children.

"Yep! You told me that you wished for an adventure. Don't you remember?"

Zhou Mingyu blinked owlishly at the girl before shaking his head. 'I really have gone insane'. He quickly stood up and went to grab his apartment keys.

"Huh!? Where are you going!?" Miss Star yelled after him as he left the bedroom.

"The hospital." He said over his shoulder. "I must've banged my head on something really hard. Its the only thing that makes sense."

Miss Star stared at him open-mouthed before chasing after him. "No, no, no, no! You need to make your wish before morning or I won't be able to help you!" She shouted as she grabbed Zhou Mingyu's sleeve with one hand and flailed her other arm around. Her long, wide sleeves made this gesture look quite silly and Zhou Mingyu nearly gushes at how cute her worried face looked. "It took me so long to sneak through the barrier and who knows how long until I'm able to fall again!"

Zhou Mingyu let out a quiet laugh at the dramatic little girl and couldn't resist patting her on the head. "Aw, don't worry about me, Miss Star! I'll be fine without your wish but I don't think my head will be if I don't go to the hospital soon! Now, why don't you head back home to your parents?" He said in the same voice he used for the kids that came into the library. 'Huh, I wonder if figments of imaginations even have parents. Wouldn't that make ME their parent since I made them up?' he mused as Miss Star became more and more distressed. Once he finally snapped out of his daydreams he looked back down at Miss Star and saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Miss Star, why are you crying?"

"I just, I just want to help you with your wish!" She whined, even wobbling her bottom lip for the extra effect. 'Hmm, who knew figments of imaginations were so dramatic?" Zhou Mingyu thought but made no move to leave. Truth be told he always loved children. In fact, his boss even made him in charge of story time because he was so good with them. Just the mere sight of their cute little faces turned him into everyone's big brother. So when he saw Miss Star's eyes fill up with tears how could his heart not melt at the sight?

"And why do you want to help me so badly?"

"Because I love humans." Miss Star sniffled as she used her wide sleeves to wipe away her tears. "All stars do! We love watching how brightly you shine even though you're made of flesh and blood. In a way, you're just like us... only sadder because you're here, trapped on the ground, and you won't ever be able to feel the sweet embrace of the cosmos." She looked up at Zhou Mingyu's face with a look of fierce determination, her grip on his sleeve tightening. "We all hate watching bad things happen to you. We hate it because the sadder you get, the dimmer your shine becomes and it's like watching one of our own die out. We hate it and so many of us want to help it's just... most of us aren't strong enough and the ones that are... they don't care anymore. But not me! I've never stopped caring so I'm gonna do whatever I can to make you happy and you're going to let me!"

Zhou Mingyu could only stare at her as the little star made her declaration. How could his heart not be moved by such passionate words? Besides he was pretty sure that he had already gone insane and he doubted some underpaid nurse could help with that. With a gentle smile, he bent down until he was eye level with the little star.

"Ok, Miss Star you've convinced me. So how are you going to make my wish come true?"

Miss Star suddenly perked up and her cute face split into a large grin. Just as she opened her mouth a colorful explosion happened outside followed by a cheering crowd. 'Oh, the fireworks started late this year.' Zhou Mingyu realized but he didn't have much time to dwell on it when Miss Star screamed and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Wha-what was that!?" She shrieked as another firework went off and she buried her face into Zhou Mingyu's chest. 'Ah, so cute~" Zhou Mingyu wanted to coo out. Instead, he just patted the little star's head reassuringly.

"Don't be scared, Miss Star." He consoled her. "Don't you know what fireworks are?"

The little star looked up at his teasing smile and pouted. "Of course I know!" she shouted as she moved away and crossed her arms instead. "I was just surprised!"

"Of course, of course." he placated. Another firework went off and instead of being spooked, the star looked towards the flashes of color coming from the bedroom with interest. The crowd cheered again and the little star couldn't help but run to the bedroom window to see what the commotion was all about.

"Hmm, children all act the same no matter what they are." Zhou Mingyu muttered to himself before following after the little star. As he walked in he couldn't help but smile at the look on her face as she peered through the window and at the festival below.

"Are they all here for the fireworks?"

"Hmm, sort of. The fireworks are the best part but everyone is here to celebrate the festival."

"What are they celebrating?"

"Oh, it's a town tradition. Every year we throw a themed festival based on Wu Junjie and his adventures. You probably have no idea what he is."

A series of emotions flashed through the little star's face and Zhou Mingyu raised a brow at her. 'Hmm, what a curious reaction. Maybe she has heard of him? Then again if I made her up then wouldn't she know what I do?'

"Wu Junjie huh?" She mumbled to herself before an idea popped up in her mind. With a huge grin, she turned to Zhou Mingyu and asked, "Do you like him?"

"Do I like who?"

"Wu Junjie of course! Who else!?"

Zhou Mingyu misunderstood the question and simply said. "Everyone likes Wu Junjie. Especially in this town."

Miss Star looked up at his face and gave him a bright smile, even the specks in her eyes seemed like they were sparkling. "I think I know just how to solve your wish!" Before Zhou Mingyu could question her, she grabbed his hands. "You trust me right?" She asked, her grip on his hands tightening.

"I guess but you're going to nee-"

"Yay! Be sure to hang on, ok?"

Before Zhou Mingyu could question her the whole went black and the last thing he could remember what the feeling of being completely weight. As if he was fully submerged in water.